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June 30, 2026
 

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Elizabeth Piper
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces the timeline for his resignation, outside No. 10 Downing Street, in London on Monday.
WORLD
Jun 22, 2026
Unloved and directionless, U.K.’s Starmer quits after just two years
Buffeted by competing Labour factions, lobbied by vested interests and misunderstood by wary voters, many came to hate what they saw as indecision.
Andy Burnham, candidate for the Labour Party, celebrates his victory in the Makerfield by-election with a rally at Ashton Town FC in Ashton-in-Makerfield, U.K., on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2026
Burnham’s ‘King of the North’ tactics will be clipped if he becomes U.K. prime minister
After winning a seat in parliament for his local area of Makerfield, Burnham, hopes to ride a level of popularity rarely enjoyed by politicians to become Britain’s next leader.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer returns to the House of Commons after listening to the King's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2026
U.K.’s Starmer faces survival battle as potential rivals circle
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he will battle to keep his job, and sources close ​to him say ‌he is determined to fight any leadership contest.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at a Labour Party event in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 12, 2026
U.K.’s Starmer under renewed pressure as lawmakers urge him to quit
Labour lawmakers have gone public to ‌express their dissatisfaction over one of the worst defeats for the party in local elections.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to members of the media in central London on April 10.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2026
Farage’s Reform party sets sights on Scotland and Wales in battle for Britain
The party is now making inroads in ‌the two nations, reflecting a rejection of the U.K.’s traditional two-party system.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves No. 10 Downing St. for the House of Commons in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 23, 2026
Mandelson scandal shatters Starmer’s promise of stable government
During his early days in office, the British prime minister had pledged to “restore honesty ​and integrity to government.”
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, during a news conference on the party's plans to cut energy bills in London, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 19, 2026
Nigel Farage declares war on the old order in his blueprint for Britain
The Reform UK leader and his allies are betting that a powerful brand of populism can carry him to 10 Downing Street.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, talks with Britain's ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence last year.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 6, 2026
Once-feted Mandelson becomes nightmare for weakened Keir Starmer
The U.K. prime minister’s appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. was once hailed as an inspired move to manage relations with Donald Trump.
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is now the most unpopular finance minister since records began, according to pollster IPSOS.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 27, 2025
U.K. tax hikes to placate bond markets likely to be costly for Reeves
Hemmed in by the need to raise taxes to tackle public finances, the finance minister had few giveaways, opting instead to make small measures to try and lower the cost of living.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron at the British Museum in London on Thursday
WORLD
Jul 10, 2025
U.K.’s Starmer hopes for migration win at summit with Macron
The British leader hopes to reach a deal on a so-called “one in, one out” migrant returns deal.
Reform U.K. party leader Nigel Farage
WORLD
Apr 29, 2025
Populist Reform party could reshape the U.K. political landscape
It also convinced its leader, Brexit veteran Nigel Farage, he had to professionalize the party, and fast.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 28, 2025
Trump dodges plea from Britain’s Starmer for Ukraine security guarantee
Britain’s prime minister had argued that there could be no long-term peace in Ukraine without firm U.S. security guarantees.
British Shadow Home Secretary and Conservative Party leadership candidate James Cleverly (left) speaks at the Conservative Party's annual conference, in Birmingham, U.K., on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2024
After being ousted, Britain’s Conservatives plan their return to power
At their conference, many Conservatives were optimistic about unseating Labour at the next election, which must take place by mid-2029.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Jul 18, 2024
U.K.’s Starmer to use forum to advocate EU reset and Ukraine support
A one-day meeting of more than 40 nations provides British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with an opportunity to push for closer defense cooperation.
A general view of the Belmarsh prison in London on May 20
WORLD / Politics
Jul 10, 2024
U.K.’s overflowing prisons present PM Starmer with early crisis
The U.K. prison population has doubled over 30 years despite falling crime rates, and is projected to exceed 100,000 by 2026.
An exit poll predicting that the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer will win 410 seats in Britain's general election is projected onto BBC Broadcasting House in London on July 4, 2024. Labour is set for a landslide win in U.K. election, exit polls showed.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 5, 2024
U.K.’s Labour set to sweep into power with huge majority, exit poll shows
The result would give Labour a majority of 170 and would bring the curtain down on 14 years of increasingly tumultuous Conservative-led government.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform U.K., during the launch of the party's 'Our Contract with You' general election manifesto in Merthyr Tydfil, U.K., on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024
Taking aim at U.K.’s Sunak, Nigel Farage pledges border control and tax cuts
Reform’s policies are designed to suck support from Sunak’s Conservatives, focusing on immigration, which has divided the governing party.
British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaks to reporters in Wakefield, England, in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 7, 2023
Britain’s Keir Starmer plots painstaking path to power
Taking lessons from center-left parties in Australia and Germany, Starmer has imbued Labour with a cautious and methodical approach.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 15, 2023
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled parliament, report concludes
A disciplinary committee accused the former leader of being ‘complicit in a campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation’ and of ‘serious contempt,’ recommending sanctions against him.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 28, 2023
Sunak strikes post-Brexit Northern Ireland deal with EU
The deal seeks to resolve the tensions caused by the Northern Ireland protocol, a complex agreement which set the trading rules for the British-ruled region.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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